PART XII
CAVEATS
115.
—(1) Any person claiming an interest in land (whether or not the land has been brought under the provisions of this Act), or any person otherwise authorised by this Act or any other written law to do so, may lodge with the Registrar a caveat in the approved form which shall include the following particulars:
(a)
the name of the caveator and the caveatee;
(b)
an address in Singapore at which notices may be served on the caveator and the caveatee;
(c)
particulars of the estate or interest claimed by the caveator;
(d)
the grounds in support of the claim;
(e)
the nature of the prohibition of the dealing in land;
(f)
the lot affected by the caveat and, where that lot is comprised in a folio, the folio;
(g)
where the caveat relates to only part of the land, such description of that part as will enable it to be identified to the satisfaction of the Registrar;
(h)
if the caveator is a purchaser or sub-purchaser of the interest in the land, the amount of the purchase price and the date of the caveator’s contract or the date on which he exercised the option to purchase the interest in the land, as the case may be; and
(i)
the particulars required by section 19 of the Residential Property Act (Cap. 274).
(2) A caveator may, according to the extent of his interest, forbid the registration under this Act of any dealing affecting the land against which the caveat is directed, either —
(a)
unless the dealing is expressed to be subject to the interest claimed by the caveator; or
(b)
unless the caveator or some person nominated by him in the caveat has consented in writing to such registration.
(3) For the purposes of this Part, and without limiting its generality, a reference to a person claiming an interest in land shall include a reference to any of the following persons:
(a)
any person who has an interest in the proceeds of sale of land, not being an interest arising from a judgment or order for the payment of money; and
(b)
a person who has obtained an injunction in respect of an estate or interest in land.
[25/2001]
(4) Nothing in this section shall enable a caveator or a person nominated by him in a caveat under subsection (2)(b) to withhold his consent to any dealing which a caveatee may lawfully make.
116. Where a caveat is lodged with the Registrar and before it has been accepted by the Registrar as being in order for notification, the Registrar shall —
(a)
if the caveat relates to land not yet brought under the provisions of this Act, provisionally enter the particulars thereof in the Caveat Index;
(b)
if the caveat relates to a manual folio, provisionally enter the particulars thereof on the folio; and
(c)
if the caveat relates to a computer folio of the land-register, provisionally enter the particulars thereof in the Caveat Index and on the folio.
117.
—(1) Where the particulars of a caveat have been provisionally entered in the Caveat Index or a folio or both, and the caveat is subsequently accepted by the Registrar as being in order for notification, the Registrar shall —
(a)
if the caveat relates to land not yet brought under the provisions of this Act, expeditiously sign and date the entry of the particulars of the caveat in the Caveat Index;
(b)
if the caveat relates to a manual folio, expeditiously sign and date the entry of the particulars of the caveat in the folio;
(c)
if the caveat relates to a computer folio, date the entry of the particulars thereof in the Caveat Index and in the computer folio,
and notify the caveatee that the caveat has been lodged and accepted by the Registrar.
(2) When any land specified in a caveat which has been notified in the Caveat Index is brought under the provisions of this Act and the caveat is notified in the land-register, the Registrar shall as soon as practicable make the appropriate entry in the Caveat Index to indicate clearly the folio created for the land.
(3) If upon investigation it is found that a caveat does not comply with the requirements of this Act, the Registrar shall give notice to the caveator of the matters in respect of which it is deficient, and if, within a period of not less than 14 days from the date of the service of the notice the caveat is not rectified, it shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
(4) The Registrar shall cancel the entry of the notification of a caveat referred to in subsection (3) in the Caveat Index or the land-register, as the case may be.
(5) Except as provided in section 127, the Registrar shall not be concerned to consider whether or not a caveator’s claim is justified.
118.
—(1) Before bringing land under the provisions of this Act, the Registrar shall cause a search to be made for caveats in the Caveat Index, and upon creating a folio for that land shall notify thereon any caveat appearing from the search to affect it.
(2) In the case of a primary application or of an application for cancellation of a caution, the Registrar may, before giving effect to the application, require the applicant to get in, or otherwise to dispose of, the interest claimed under any inconsistent caveat.
119.
—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a caveat which is in order for notification in the land-register at the date of its lodgment shall take effect from that date.
(2) Where a caveat is lodged against any land which has not yet been brought under the provisions of this Act, that caveat shall not operate to forbid the registration of dealings affecting that land until it becomes registered land.
(3) For the purposes of according priority to a caveat which has been lodged under the provisions of this Act and is amended subsequent to its date of lodgment —
(a)
where it is materially amended subsequent to its date of notification in the Caveat Index before the land becomes registered land, the caveat shall have priority in accordance with section 48 upon the acceptance of the amendment by the Registrar as having complied with the requirements specified by the Registrar under section 117; or
(b)
where it is materially amended at any time after its lodgment against the relevant folio, the caveat shall have priority upon the acceptance of the amendment by the Registrar as having complied with the requirements specified by the Registrar under section 117.
(4) So long as a caveat remains effective, the Registrar shall not register any dealing which is prohibited by the caveat.
120.
—(1) Upon lodgment of a dealing the registration of which is prohibited by a caveat, the Registrar shall serve on the caveator a notice of his intention, at the expiration of 30 days from the date of the service of the notice, to register the dealing, and he shall so register the dealing unless within the period of 30 days —
(a)
an order has been obtained from the court extending the operation of the caveat for such further period as may be specified in the order or for such further periods as may be specified in subsequent orders made by the court and the order or an office copy thereof is served on the Registrar; or
(b)
the dealing has been uplifted or withdrawn or otherwise becomes incapable of registration.
(2) For the purpose of this section, a dealing shall not be deemed to have been lodged for registration until (except for the presence of a caveat) it is in order for registration.
(3) Where, after the service of the notice under subsection (1), the dealing to which the notice relates is uplifted, or withdrawn, or otherwise becomes incapable of registration, the effect of the notice is cancelled and the caveat shall be restored to its former efficacy.
121.
—(1) A caveat shall lapse and cease to affect land —
(a)
at the expiration of the period of 30 days (or of such further period as the court may direct) from the date of the service of the notice given under section 120; or
(b)
at the expiration of 5 years from the date of the lodgment of the caveat, or where an extension is validly claimed under section 122, at the expiration of each further 5-year period referred to in section 122.
(2) Where a dealing in favour of the caveator is lodged and accepted by the Registrar, and the caveator states either personally or by his solicitor or attorney that the interest in the land affected under the dealing is similar to that in the caveat, the dealing may be registered by the Registrar, and upon its registration, the related caveat shall lapse and cease to have any effect.
(3) Notwithstanding the absence of any statement made by the caveator that his interest is similar to that affected under the dealing as provided in subsection (2), the Registrar may register the dealing under the following circumstances:
(a)
in the case of a dealing disposing of an estate or interest in land, if the Registrar is satisfied that the estate or interest to which the caveator claims to be entitled would, on the dealing being registered, vest wholly in the caveator; and
(b)
in the case of an instrument of mortgage or charge, if the Registrar is satisfied that the estate or interest which the caveator claims as mortgagee or chargee is one and the same interest mortgaged or charged in the instrument of mortgage or charge and the caveator may be registered as the mortgagee or chargee.
(4) Where, after effecting service of a notice of the intention to register a dealing in accordance with section 120(1), the Registrar registers the dealing that does not completely dispose of the estate of the registered proprietor in the land to which the caveat relates or exhaust the intended functions of the caveat, the caveat shall be deemed to have lapsed only to the extent necessary to permit the registration.
(5) Where a caveat has lapsed either wholly or partially, the Registrar shall enter in the Caveat Index or the land-register, as the case may be, an appropriate notification of the lapsing.
(6) The lapsing of a caveat under subsection (1) shall not prevent the lodgment of a fresh caveat in respect of the same matter.
(7) Where a caveat has lapsed under subsection (1)(a), any further caveat lodged in respect of the same estate or interest in land claimed under that lapsed caveat and purporting to be based on the same facts as the lapsed caveat (other than a fresh caveat lodged against any person except the caveatee named in the lapsed caveat) has no effect unless the caveator has obtained leave of the court to lodge the further caveat, and that order or an office copy of that order has to accompany the further caveat when it is lodged with the Registrar.
(8) The Registrar shall not be concerned with the validity of the further caveat referred to in subsection (7) and if such further caveat is lodged without being accompanied by the order as mentioned in that subsection, the caveator shall be liable to pay compensation to any person who sustains pecuniary loss that is attributable to such an act or omission in complying with that subsection.
(9) Subsection (1)(b) shall also apply to a caveat which relates to land not brought under the provisions of this Act and was lodged and entered in the Caveat Index under sections 116 and 117.
(10) The Registrar may, after registering the dealing under subsection (3)(a) or (b), cancel the caveat.
122.
—(1) At any time before a caveat has lapsed, a caveator may lodge an extension of caveat in the approved form claiming the same interest as that shown in the caveat and where such an extension of caveat has been lodged and notified in the land-register, the caveat shall not lapse until —
(a)
the expiration of a period of 5 years commencing from the date of the lodgment of the extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the land-register; or
(b)
where more than one extension of caveat has been lodged and notified on the land-register before the expiration of each 5-year period from the date of the lodgment of the last extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the folio, the expiration of a period of 5 years from the date of the lodgment of the last extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the folio.
(2) Where an extension of caveat referred to in subsection (1) is accepted for notification in the land-register, the Registrar shall make an appropriate notification showing clearly the relationship between the extension of caveat and the caveat affected.
(3) The Registrar shall not accept an extension of caveat for the purpose of extending the period of validity of a prior caveat unless the nature of the claim in the extension of caveat is the same as that disclosed in the caveat.
(4) The Registrar shall not be concerned to consider or enquire into the validity of each claim except to satisfy himself that the claim expressed in each extension of caveat is similar to that expressed in the immediately prior caveat.
(5) This section shall also apply to a caveat which relates to land not brought under the provisions of this Act and was lodged and entered in the Caveat Index under sections 116 and 117.
(6) Where an extension of caveat is accepted for notification on the land-register, the Registrar shall notify the caveatee.
123.
—(1) Where under this Part provision is made for the service on the caveator of a notice relating to a caveat lodged under any provision of this Part, or to any proceedings in respect of such a caveat, the notice is duly served if it is served in one of the following ways:
(a)
the notice is served on the caveator personally;
(b)
the notice is left at or sent by registered post to —
(i)
the address specified in the caveat;
(ii)
where an address has been notified to the Registrar in respect of the caveat under subsection (2), that address or, if more than one address has been notified in respect of the caveat under that subsection, the last of the addresses so notified;
(c)
if the caveat was signed on behalf of the caveator by an agent other than a solicitor, the notice is left at or sent by registered post to the business or residential address of that agent;
(d)
if the caveat was signed on behalf of the caveator by a solicitor, the notice is left or sent by registered post to the office of the solicitor in Singapore; and
(e)
the notice is served in any other manner, whether by advertisement or otherwise, as the Registrar may direct in writing.
(2) Where the person entitled to withdraw a caveat lodged under this Part notifies the Registrar by lodging a notice in the approved form that the name of the caveator or the address specified in the caveat for service of notice on the caveator has been changed, the Registrar shall record the change of name or address in the register maintained for changes in names and addresses or on the folio or in any other manner which is made known to any person who intends to find out the latest particulars of any caveator and thereupon the name or address so recorded shall be the name or address for service of notice on the caveator.
124. In any proceedings in respect of a caveat, the court may —
(a)
order that the caveator give an undertaking or security that the court considers sufficient to indemnify every person against any damage that may be sustained by reason of any disposition of the property being delayed or to answer the costs of the caveatee;
(b)
direct the Registrar to delay registering any instrument dealing with the land, mortgage or encumbrance during the time the order of the court provides;
(c)
direct the caveator to take further proceedings by action or otherwise on his caveat; or
(d)
make any other order considered just.
125. The Registrar shall make the appropriate notifications in the land-register or the Caveat Index of any lapsing, cancellation or extension of any caveat when such event has taken effect.
126.
—(1) A caveat may be withdrawn either wholly or as to part of the land thereby affected by an instrument of withdrawal signed —
(a)
by the caveator or his authorised agent including a solicitor acting on his behalf;
(b)
where the caveator is a natural person who has died, by his personal representative or the trustee of the caveator’s estate;
(c)
where 2 or more caveators claim to be entitled as joint tenants to the estate or interest protected by the caveat and one or more (but not all) of them has died, by the surviving caveator or caveators;
(d)
where the caveator is adjudicated a bankrupt, by the Official Assignee; or where the caveator is a corporation and is in liquidation, and the estate or interest claimed by the caveator has become vested in the liquidator, by the liquidator;
(e)
by the person or the committee to whom it is entrusted, pursuant to the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 178),the management and care of the estate or interest claimed in the caveat; or
(f)
(2) The Registrar shall not be concerned to satisfy himself whether or not a solicitor who signs an instrument of a withdrawal of a caveat as solicitor for the caveator or for the person mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (c), (d) and (e) has the authority to withdraw the caveat.
(3) An instrument of withdrawal of a caveat, which is lodged with and accepted as being in order by the Registrar, shall take effect from the date of the notification in the records maintained by the Registrar, either as notified in the Caveat Index or the land-register, as the case may be.
127.
—(1) At any time after the lodgment of a caveat, the caveatee may summon the caveator to attend before the court to show cause why the caveat should not be withdrawn or otherwise removed, and the court may make such order, either ex parte or otherwise, as seems just.
(2) A caveatee who contends that a caveat has been lodged, or is being allowed to remain, vexatiously or frivolously or not in good faith may lodge with the Registrar a statutory declaration to that effect, whereupon the Registrar shall give notice to the caveator that he intends to cancel the notification of the caveat, and he shall cancel it unless within 30 days from the date of the service of the notice —
(a)
an order by the court to the contrary is served on the Registrar; or
(b)
the caveator furnishes to the Registrar satisfactory evidence to show that the cancellation should be withheld or deferred.
[10/2003]
(3) In any case in which the Registrar, after giving the notice under subsection (2) to the caveator, does not cancel the notification of a caveat under this section, he shall inform the caveatee that he has withdrawn or extended the time of the notice of intended cancellation, as the case may be.
(4) A caveator who has been given notice under subsection (2) may, at any time during the currency of the notice, apply to the court for relief, and the court may make such order in the premises as seems just.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a person claiming an estate or interest in the land under another caveat shall be deemed to be a caveatee.
128.
—(1) Any person who wrongfully, vexatiously or without reasonable cause —
(a)
lodges a caveat with the Registrar;
(b)
procures the lapsing of such a caveat; or
(c)
being the caveator, refuses or fails to withdraw such a caveat after being requested to do so,
shall be liable to pay compensation to any person who sustains pecuniary loss that is attributable to an act, a refusal or a failure referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).
(2) The compensation referred to in subsection (1) shall be recoverable in proceedings taken in a court by the person who claims to have sustained the pecuniary loss.
(3) A person who is a caveator shall not be entitled to bring proceedings under subsection (1)(b) if that person, having had an opportunity to do so, has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the caveat from lapsing.
(4) For the purposes of this section, a caveator shall be deemed to allow a caveat to remain without reasonable cause if he fails to withdraw it within 7 days of the day on which his right to the interest claimed terminates.
129.
—(1) Except in so far as it otherwise specifies, a subsisting caveat lodged to protect any estate or interest in land does not prohibit the registration or notification of any of the following dealings or instruments in respect of the same estate or interest in the land:
(a)
a transfer of land in favour of the Government by way of surrender for the purpose of reissuing one or more new titles;
(b)
an instrument of vesting pursuant to compulsory acquisition under section 143;
(c)
a transfer of land sold under section 144;
(d)
a transfer or lease executed by a mortgagee or chargee, or a registered mortgagee, or a registered chargee, under a mortgage or charge registered or notified and subsisting prior to the lodgment and notification of the caveat in the land-register, in pursuance of a power of sale or lease contained in the mortgage or charge or conferred on the registered mortgagee or registered chargee under this Act;
(e)
a total or partial discharge of a mortgage or a registered mortgage;
(f)
a transfer of a mortgage or a registered mortgage;
(g)
a transmission upon death of a registered proprietor, notice of death of one or more joint tenants, a transmission upon a registered proprietor being adjudicated a bankrupt or on the vesting of a corporation’s estate or interest in land upon the effective date of its winding up in the Official Receiver;
(h)
easements or restrictions which are not expressly prohibited by the caveat, or any discharge thereof;
(i)
a total or partial release of any easement or a total or partial release or extinguishment of restrictions;
(j)
a change in the name of a registered proprietor;
(k)
in relation to a lease lodged in registrable form and accepted before the lodgment of the caveat, a dealing effected by the lessee pursuant to a right conferred by the lease or by or under any existing law;
(l)
a dealing effected by a lessee, mortgagee or chargee under a lease, mortgage or charge to the registration of which lease, mortgage or charge the caveator has consented or such lease, mortgage or charge has been made subject to the interest of the caveator as claimed in the caveat, being a dealing relating to the lease, mortgage or charge; and
(m)
an application made to a Strata Titles Board under Part VA of the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 158).
[25/2001]
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), where the Registrar registers an instrument that —
(a)
completely disposes of the estate of the registered proprietor in the land to which the caveat relates, the caveat shall lapse and cease to have any effect; or
(b)
does not completely dispose of the registered estate of the registered proprietor in the land, the caveat shall be deemed to have lapsed only to the extent necessary to permit such registration.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a registration made under section 107, 110 or 114 shall be deemed not to dispose completely of the estate of the registered proprietor whose estate is transmitted under those sections.
(4) In this section —
“mortgage”, “mortgagee” and “mortgagor” are as defined in section 69;
“mortgage” includes a “sub-mortgage”, “mortgagee” includes a “sub-mortgagee” and “mortgagor” includes a “sub-mortgagor”;
“registered mortgage” means a mortgage registered under the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269) and notified on the land-register and includes a charge so registered and notified; and a “registered mortgagee” has the corresponding meaning as in section 69.
130. Nothing in this Part shall be construed as preventing or restricting a caveator from applying for and obtaining from a court an injunction for the purpose of —
(a)
restraining the Registrar from registering an instrument the registration of which is prohibited by the caveat; or
(b)
restraining another caveator or any party to an action or suit in which the court orders the withdrawal or removal of a caveat or in which it declines to extend the currency of a caveat from lodging another caveat in the same matter.